Illuminable novelty



Sept. 27, 1949. SHARP 2,483,1Q7

ILLUMINABLE NOVELTY Filed April 20, 1948 IN VEN TOR. /"//76 /"6W 6 5/7070.

Patented Sept. 27, 1949 U NIT E D STATES OiFF ICE iLLU-Mmanm NovEnrY Andrew-G. Sharp; Httsbmteh, -Pa. Application April '20, 1948, .SeriaiNDJ22LZ2I '8 "Claims. 1

'lhe pri-nc ipal object which] have in View is the-production of-an improvemen t in novelties provided with one or'niore electric bulbs which will become lighted whena portion oithe structiltedor shifted and completes an electric circuittvhich includes the'bulb =or bulbs and a ch'y rbattery mounted 'inthe structure.

.lnthe embodiment of the principles of the invention illnstrated in the accompanying drawings, .Ihave shown an illuminable-ash tray structurerccmnrising a body of dielectric material, such a-ea suitable preferably having a contour of-the'hea'd of an animal, such as a human skull, inthe-eyesockets of whichiare mounted a pair of small electric bulbs, the body being provided with acavity whichis mounted a small dry battery in-electric contact with'which the central contents of the bulbs are maintained.

P-r1otrud ing upwardly through the top of the body and having its lower-or inner end in constant electrical contact with the central contact of the battery, is a post formed of conductive metal. An ash tray or pan of conductive :metal having an axial opening of considerably greater diameter than thatof the post is removablysupported on top of the body with the postextendi-ng upwardly through said aperture but out of direct electrical contact with the tray. A tubular sleeve, preferably of resilient distort'able character and of'electri'cally conductivematerial, has its lower extremity welded .or' otherwise anchored to the tray in registry with the aperture of thelatter. The sleeve surrounds the post but is normally out of "contact therewith. Preferably the tubular sleeve is of su'incient iength to extend heyondthe free'outer end of the post, and the upper end of the sleeve may be provided with a contact-knob or insulating material such asa -woodenball.

-"-A coating'of electrically conductive paint or similar --conductive material is applied to the perimetral walls of the bulb sockets so as to mainta-in electrical contact with the shell contacts of the bulbs, and such coating extends from the interror o'f-said socket up the front exteriorsurface oi the body andsurrounds the protruding post but is spaoed i away from the latter to-avoid direct electrical contact between the coating and the post when the is moved laterally as :by a cignrette-or-theiinger of theuser being pushed against ityt'he sleeve Will'he distortedor bent laterally and brought into electrical contact with theireezeml of 1113361130811, thus completing the circnitifrorn-thebatterythrough the post, the sleeve, the tray 'th =COHd.uCtiV coating, atheabulbs and the battery, thus causing the bulbs to light and to remain lighted until the distorting pressure on the s'leeve'is relievedgwhereupon the electrical contact of thesleeve and the post is interrupted andtheillumination of the bulbs-ceases. Again, the-sleeve being-mounted on and ingpermainerit electrical contactwith the tray, whenever"that-ray is-tilted by the contactt-herewith of a cigarette or the fingers,- as the deposit ofashes, thesleeve is likewise brought into electrical contact with the post and the circuit is completed, li-ghtingthe bulbs, "which'la-tter remain lighted until tilting pressure on the tray is terminated, whereupon the tray and the sleeve return to their position of rest.

Instead aof the coating-of the electrically conductive paint; "any suitable means for conduct-Lively connecting thes'hell-cOn-ta'c-tsof the bulbs -with the tray may be used.

Other novel features of construction and'nrrangemen t of parts a'ppear in the following description.

-In-the accompanying -drawings, wherein I have illustrated impractical "embodiment of the "pr-inciples offithepresent invention,

Fig. 1 is afront elevation;

Fig. 2'is avertic'al sectional view taken along the line '2- 2 =in"Fig. 3 and Fig. 3"is a top planview' with the ash tray and the' sle'eve removed.

"Referring to the drawings, l0 indicates the body cfthe article, which is cast or otherwise formed of a suitable dielectric-material, such for instance as an electrically nonconductive plastic. In the drawings the body is molded in the form of 1a human skull. The body It is provided with a flat extending base portion 4 l to provide a firm-stance.

Extending upwardly trorn the base acylindrical bore is provided for the reception of a 'dry battery cell l3ywhichnuay be a flashlight'batter-y, with the perimetral paper covering of the battery removed-to exposethe zinc shell. The battery is held against accidental shifting from its proper position by :any-suitable'means, such as the oztnamental screw 1'4 extending through a threaded hole in the body and impinging against the perimetral wall of the battery.

'The wall of the body is pierced by two sockets l-5 which arepositioned cn the same'horizontal plane but preferably diverging outwardly, the

inner ends of the-sockets being open to the bore 12 so that'when the electric-bulbs ll; are inserted into the sockets their axial'central contacts are in direct electrical contact with the shell --contacts or the battery '13. In the em bodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the walls of the sockets are coated with an electrically conductive paint, such as paint containing silver or other conductive metal. This coating is indicated at H and extends from the interior of the sockets [5 up along the exterior front surface of the body and surrounds a post l8 but is at all times out of direct electrical contact with said post.

The upwardly extending post l8 is of electrically conductive metal and protrudes up through the top of the body l0 and has its lower end in electrical contact with the central contact of the battery 13, as by means of the brass leaf spring 19 attached to the inner end of the post and pressed into contact with the terminal of the battery. The post is fixed to the body I0.

The top of the body is provided with a small that surface 24 surrounding the post l8 and upon which lightly rests a tray which is of conductive metal, the tray being provided with an axial hole 2| which is of considerably greater diameter than that of the post l8 so as to be out of direct electrical contact with the tray.

22 indicates a tubular sleeve made of such resilient material as to be distortable laterally. Thus the sleeve, as indicated, may be formed of helically bent wire, which wire is of electrically conductive metal. The sleeve at its lower end is fixedly attached, as by welding to the tray, the bore of the sleeve being in registry with the hole 2| in the tray. The sleeve is of such internal diameter as normally to be out of electrical contact with the post l8, but the sleeve may be brought into electrical contact with the upper end of the post either by independently deflecting the upper end of the sleeve out of its normal vertical alignment or by tilting the tray on the body, the sleeve in such instance being tilted with the tray.

The upper end of the sleeve, which extends above the free end of the post may be provided with a head of nonconductive material, such as the wooden ball 23, which, when struck by the finger of the user or by the end of a cigarette to dislodge ashes from the latter, will cause the sleeve to be deflected and thus bring the latter into direct contact with the post, thereby completing the electric circuit of the battery, the post, the tray, the conductive paint, the electric bulbs and the battery. Again, if the finger or the cigarette be pressed against the upper surface of the tray adjacent the rim thereof, the tray will be tilted and the sleeve will be tilted in unison with the tray and into electrical contact with the post, thus completing the circuit above-mentioned and causing the bulbs to be lighted and to remain lighted until the tilting force is relieved.

To prevent accidental electrical contact between the sleeve and the base of the projecting portion of the post, the interior of the sleeve 22 is provided at its lower end with a short tubular insulator 25.

It is evident that the tray 20, together with the sleeve 22, may be lifted as a unit from the body It to empty the tray.

The tray and the sleeve as a unit are loosely supported by the top of the body, the bottom of the tray resting upon the flat portion 26 of the body surface, over which surface the coating l1 extends, and thus the unit may be lifted oii the body to remove and empty the tray of ashes.

In the drawings the coat of electrically conductive paint I? is indicated by parallel dotted lines to distinguish it from the remaining exterior surface of the body, but such paint may be of the same color as that of the body. Thus electrically conductive paint containing silver may be used and the remainder of the body may be given a covering of nonconductive paint of the same or similar shade, or the nonconductive paint may cover the layer of conductive paint where it extends up on the front of the body from the lamp sockets to the fiat area 24 upon which the tray is supported.

I claim:

1. In a novelty of the character described, the combination of a body formed of dielectrical material, said body being provided with a base portion for supporting the body and said body being also provided with an internal cavity in which a dry battery may be mounted and at least one socket extending from without said body and communicating at its inner end with the battery cavity, said socket being arranged to receive an electric bulb with the central contact of the bulb maintained in electrical contact with the shell contact of the battery, 2. post protruding upward from the battery cavity through the top of the body, the lower end of the post being maintained in electrical contact with the central contact of the battery, electrical conductive means lining the interior wall of the socket, to maintain electrical contact with the shell contact of the bulb when the latter is in position in the socket, and extending from the outer end of the socket up along the front end of the body and on the top of the latter but out of electric contact with the post, and a tubular sleevesurrounding the post but normally out of electric contact therewith but maintained in electrical contact with said electrical conductive means, said sleeve being arranged to be tilted into electrical contact with said post and thus complete the electric circuit between the battery and bulb and light the latter.

2. The structure of claim 1 characterized by the sleeve being formed of resilient material so that it may be tilted by an applied force to effect electrical contact between the sleeve and the post and thus complete the electrical circuit.

3. The structure of claim 1 characterized by the sleeve being formed of a helix of electrically conductive wire which may be tilted by an applied force to effect electrical contact between the sleeve and the post and thus complete the electrical circuit.

4. The structure of claim 1 characterized by the electrical conductive means being in the form of a coating of electrical conductive paint applied to the surfaceof the dielectric material of the body.

5. In a novelty of the character described, the combination of a body formed of dielectric material, said body being provided with a base portion for supporting the body, and said body being also provided with an internal cavity in which a dry battery may be mounted and at least one socket extending from without said body and communicating at its inner end with the battery cavity, said socket being arranged to receive an electric bulb with the central contact of the bulb maintained in electrical contact with the shell contact of the battery, a post protruding upwardly from the battery cavity through the top of the body, the lower end of the post being maintained in electrical contact with the central contact of the battery, electrical conductive means lining the interior wall of the socket to maintain electrical contact with the bulb when the latter is in place in the socket and extending from the outer end of the socket up along the front of the body and on the top of the latter surrounding but out of electrical contact with the post, and an ash tray of conductive metal loosely resting on the electrical conductive means on the top of the body and having an axial opening surrounding the post but out of contact with the post, and means whereby when the tray is tilted on the body electrical contact is established between the tray and the post thus completing the electric circuit between the battery and the electric bulb and illuminating the latter.

6. The structure of claim 5 characterized by the electrical conductive means being in the form of a coating of electrically conductive paint.

7. The structure of claim 5 characterized by the means for establishing electrical contact between the tray when tilted and the post is in the form of a sleeve of electrical conductive material extending upwardly from the tray and surrounding the post but of such internal diameter as normally to be out of electrical contact with the post but to be brought into electrical contact with the post when the tray is tilted.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,224,215 Scalbom May 1, 1917 1,581,452 Krehbiel Apr. 20, 1926 1,622,196 Howell Mar. 22, 1927 1,996,389 Smith Apr. 2, 1935 2,156,463 Schulte May 2, 1939 

